2011

Happy New Year! The year has come to an end! And what an eventful one it has been! Tyler and I were able to sit down and reflect on all the events of the past year, and thought we would write them all down on here.

January: I went to my first doctors appointment to confirm that my sickness for the past 2 months was indeed a little baby starting to grow! Our year started off drastic right away! Tyler's sister McKinzie also got married so we welcomed our first brother-in-law Michael into the family. My brother Chad also received his mission call. Nervously, he announced that he would be going to serve in the Lansing, Michigan mission!

February: Tyler started back into school. He was taking online classes at Western International University to further his interest in criminal behavior. We also celebrated our first Valentines Day being married. Tyler took me and my pregnant self to Dave and busters for dinner and some fun. We enjoyed doing something different for that special day.

March: In march, Tyler quit his job at the Berge Mazda/ Volkswagon dealership because he got a new offer as an assistant manager at a UPS store. On march 10th we had our 20 week drs appointment where we got to find out what we were having. Our little Hallie was a girl! We had the name picked out already, since it's my grandpa's moms name, and since she was due on mine and my grandpas birthday, we thought it was fitting. A few days later my brother Chad left on his mission! It was a crazy emotional time for our family, but now this much later we know he was sent to Michigan for all the right reasons!

April: we couldn't recall anything special in April. Just a healthy growing belly and baby!

May: I really had no intentions to do this, but we celebrated my first mothers day since I was expecting. I felt like I was cheating the system because I did not feel like a mom yet. But Tyler wouldn't let that happen. The funny man got me a case of mountain dew and a gift card to mcDonalds, the things I had been craving. I led a healthy pregnancy lifestyle ok? We also moved into yet another apartment in May. It was a little bigger, had another bathroom and hallie's room was going to be huge. We were able to combine her room with the guest bedroom and had plenty of extra space. The end of May the school year finished, all my kiddos graduated onto junior high, and I was done working. I had the next two months to get settled and have lots of me time before hallie would be here.

June: The first week of June we were able to go back up to Camp Tatiyee where Tyler got to work as a counselor and I was kind of just present with my big belly. We love camp and everything it has to bring and we were so glad we were able to be back this summer since I wasn't able to be working up there the whole time! After we got home we had our chocolate lab Lacey fixed. I had gotten tired of her being in heat, and I knew I wouldn't be able to do it with baby. She did really well and has been ten times better ever since! We also celebrated Fathers day this year. Tyler just so happened to get a new phone since his broke a couple days before it. I spoil him.

July: this was the first year (I think ever) I did not do anything for the 4th of July. I was now 9 months pregnant, and feeling miserable. So we spent the night in the pool, where gravity could take away the weight of my huge belly. We didn't even watch the fireworks on tv. Lame, I know. The middle of July Tyler left to Colorado for two weeks of Annual Training with the army. I was so nervous the baby would come while he was gone. We also moved into a rental house the day Ty left. Thanks to my dad and bros for helping! To waste the time away, I decided to chance going to San Diego for a week with my dad and brothers (I was 38 weeks along yikes). It was so nice being able to lay on the beach (like a beached whale) and have one last me trip. When I got back, we found out I was already dilating, and with that the army sent Tyler back a week early. So thankful for that. We got to spend that week together for the last time. That next Sunday I went into labor, and then on July 26th we had our beautiful little Hallie at 3:32 am!

August: on the 3rd it was my birthday where I turned the big 22! We also left Hallie for the first time. My mom watched her while we went to dinner.
Tyler and I also received callings this. month for our new ward. He was called to be an 11 year old scout leader, and later an elders quorum teacher. I was called to lead music in relief society.

September: after lots of drama, Tyler quit UPS and started working for an apartment complex where he is now. He loves it and is so thankful for this job. This year marked the 10th anniversary for September 11th. Then on the 25th we celebrated our first anniversary! We went to dinner and I finally, after years, talked Ty into going ice skating. He was a pro.

October: we put on the 13 days of Hallieween. We had lots of outfits and activities geared towards Halloween. For Halloween, Hallie was a grumpy ladybug and Tyler and I were batman and robin.

November: Tyler turned 24 on the 6th! Old man. And Hallie had her first Thanksgiving. She also started eating solids.

December: with hallie's love of all things that light up, we went to temple lights twice, and zoo lights. Tyler and I hadn't been to zoo lights since we were really little. Hallie also had her first Christmas! Luckily she was in a great mood and everything went really well.

It's been an eventful 2011, but we have been blessed beyond belief. Thank you to all our friends and family who have supported and done so much for us this year. We are so thankful for everyone in our lives, and we hope everyone has a safe, healthy, and happy new year!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone so quickly. I felt like I had all the time in the world to decorate, bake, and shop. But soon it was a week till Christmas and I was still finding a long to-do list. I am so not looking forward to packing up all my Christmas things. Would it be completely white trash of me to keep it up for a little longer?
We ended up piercing Hallie's ears this month. She looks so stinking cute! She did really well. We luckily caught her on a good day. She fussed a little after the first one, mostly because Tyler had to hold her arms down, but then we gave her juice and she was fine. She started grabbing at everything a few days before Christmas. She went from not reaching for anything, to waking up one day and trying to get everything. I was so excited because Christmas just wouldn't be as much fun with her just sitting there! We also got to go to zoo lights and temple lights this month. Hallie loves all things lights so she was so good on our outings! It was fun taking her. Christmas eve we went to Tyler's aunt and uncles house on his mom's side. We ate dinner and had a gift exchange which was so fun. Then we came home and packed the truck (it looked like we were leaving home for a week. Traveling with a child and two dogs plus presents required us to borrow Grandpa's truck to be able to fit everything). We headed out to my moms and got our Christmas jammies. Hallie got cute reindeer ones, Ty got batman, my brothers got beevis an d butthead and transformers, and I got Harry potter! All 5 of us slept in my moms room like every year. Hallie was the most hyper out of everyone. I don't know why, she had no idea what was goin on, but she was up talking till 11 which is so not like her. We woke up early ( I woke Hallie up since she usually sleeps in till 9, I was just too excited) and opened stockings and presents. Then we got to talk to my brother Chad who is in Michigan on a mission. It as so good talking to him! We were even able to face chat with him for a few hours so we were able to see him and Chad got to meet hallie! She even threw up on the camera for him. After my mom's we dropped the dogs off back at home and headed to Tyler's aunts for his dads side. We spent some time with them, and then headed to my dads for dinner. It was a long long day. All said and done, Hallie got lots of toys, a play mat, a couple pianos, and a stroller. She had so much fun opening everything and being so excited. I loved playing Santa! Tyler got off road lights, money, p90x, clothes, new Oakley lenses, and a few other small things. I got a sewing machine, a cricut, a food processor ( wow I guess I really am a Mormon wife/mom) and a couple other things. We have the best family and are so thankful for everyone's generosity!
I am so sad to say goodbye to this season, it is my absolute favorite. I love all the things Christmas brings. Family, friends, faith, hope, love. And miracles! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

Chatter box

Have you ever wished you could get a small glimpse into your future? Well I think in the last few days I have. And it's full of phone calls and notes home from school. Hallie loves to talk. If you're paying any attention to her she'll babble your ear off. She thinks it's the funniest thing. Especially at four in the morning, where she'll cry and cry until Tyler or I go in her room and then she just talks. She loves babbling along with Christmas songs. She'll do it in the car when we're listening to Christmas music. She did it yesterday in Sacrament when the primary got up to sing Picture a Christmas. And she loves talking to the tv when she's watching backyardigans. We have quite the talker. And however cute I think it is right now ( it makes me so stinkin happy) I guarantee it'll get her into some trouble if she keeps it up. But boy is it funny. I love having a happy baby now. I deserve it after the four tough months we had. I absolutely adore the time I spend with her now while she smiles and talks to me. I just love this girl to pieces!

On a side note..Christmas is in 13 days and I have done zero shopping for anyone. That's what a happy baby does to you. Distraction! I feel so behind!

Pros and cons

Wow it's been awhile. Where the heck did November go? Not that I'm complaining, I love December! But that sure went fast. Time goes by so much faster when you have a baby. It's both a great and a bad thing. Here's a list of bad and good things that have been going on in the Peel house.
Pro: I got my new phone!! I've pretty much been waiting since the day I signed the contract for my old one. After getting lost in Phoenix and running out of gas one night, and my phone was choosing not to work, we decided it was time to push the upgrade. I jumped on the iPhone bandwagon, but I love it
Con: Tyler had drill Friday, Saturday, Sunday for November so it was me and Hallie flying solo. I gotta admit it was nice to just have her to focus on though
Pro: Thanksgiving! I love me some food!
Pro: Hallie turned 4 months old on the 26th. She's blooming into quite the funny little lady
Pro: We switched to a new pediatrician who I love! After 5 minutes explaining Hallie's problems he put her on a medicine that has already helped
Con: we had to go to one more appointment with our old pediatrician where she told me if Hallie wasn't so interactive she would think she was developmentally disabled (seriously?) that I was over stimulating her with toys cuz she can't see colors, and that I needed to join a support group because I am boring my curious baby and that's why she screams so much. Psycho much?
Pro: it's December! and my holiday decoration are up! Nothing better than having a house light up from Christmas lights!
Pro: the weather has been fantastic lately. Cold enough to have my favorite bedtime snack (besides cereal). Nothing warms you from head to toes before bed like toast and hot chocolate.
Pro: Picos made tamales allll day long today. And we definitely have a batch in the fridge, and one in the freezer
Con: I'm not looking forward to splitting my time and attention between families for Christmas. I wish I could just combine all my families because it stresses me out
Pro: we got switched to the formula plan from WIC. Which means I definitely got $75 of formula for free tonight and I still get $75 more this month
Con: Tyler had a cold for a week. And even more of a con, now Hallie and I have it
Con: Tyler leaves for drill tomorrow, again, he just had it two weeks ago. But this time, I get a sick baby all to my sick self. Fun?

It's been an eventful month, and I'm sure we're in store for much more coming up. All I know is that through all the pros and cons, I love my little family. They are my whole world and I am so lucky to have them!

November!

I love new months! Out with the old, in with the new! I especially love it when it means taking down one holiday's decorations and preparing for the next! My Halloween stuff went back to the garage the first day of November and is now replaced with fall and thanksgiving. It makes me giddy knowing what's next :)
The first week of November we had two birthdays. On the 4th, it was my mother-in-law's and on the 6th it was Tyler's! My sweet husband is now 24! Gettin up there! We celebrated Friday night by dropping Hallie off at Pico's and going out. We had dinner at Red Robin and went to see Tower Heist (it has Alan Alda in it..of course that's what Tyler's pick was). Saturday it was dark and chilly outside so we went to Brew's game and then spent the afternoon together watching movies and playing with our cute girl. Sunday, Tyler's birthday, we slept thru church (whoops) and then went to the mall. We had gotten a thing in the mail from Helzberg saying we got a free bracelet for our birthday. Maybe they thought Tyler's birthday was mine, but I ended up with a pretty bracelet on my husbands birthday! I like it! I also found out that I am FINALLY up for a phone upgrade in 2 weeks. It can not come soon enough!!! After the mall we had lunch at Chili's. Yum. Then we went home, put Hallie down for a nap, then headed over to Tyler's mom's for their birthday bbq. We had hamburgers and watched Rio. We all had a good time.
Hallie is showing her little personality more and more. I love that little girl. She's smiling a lot now and I even got laughs today! She's starting to play with us now and is getting to be so fun! Tyler and I are loving the happy moments we have with her!

Day 13

<p>The end is here! Halloween is finally over. It was kind of a bad turn out at my moms. Not a lot of trick or treaters. But I LOVE Halloween at my moms. She goes all out. People took turns hiding behind corn stalks scaring the teenage trick or treaters. They deserve it. I really hate when they show up expecting candy either wearing no costume or no clothes. And then they make up lame excuses. I'm dressed as myself or I'm a gangster or I'm a cowgirl in my shorts that show off half my butt. That's the part of Halloween I hate. So needless to say it made my night when they all got the skank scared out of them. Tyler and I went as Batman and Robin. We made our costumes, I'll have to post pictures soon. The rest of Halloween was just tradition. Ibc rootbeer and cream soda, mummy dogs, caramel apples..the usual. Hallie was in a baaaad mood yesterday so she finally took a nap and slept the whole time. I woke her up at the end to put her grouchy ladybug costume on and at least take one or two pictures. I can't wait to take her out next year, hopefully she'll be a happy child by then.
Now its November. My house is a mess from all the festivities we've had lately. I can't wait to get it cleaned, put away Halloween stuff and get out my fall decorations. Sunday is Tyler's birthday and I still have no idea what to get him. Hm...

Day 12

Sunday I had a killer headache all day. We stayed home from church and watched Halloween 3, 4, & 5. Then we went to my moms and frosted more cookies, ate pizza, finished decorating her house, and carved pumpkins. I really wanted to have Hallie carve a pumpkin with me and put her in it..but I think she's going thru a growth spurt so she slept thru it all. I love Halloween, but I'm about ready for it to be over!
Pictures: my apple pie, Amy's ET, my lame pumpkin, and Tyler's joker

Day 11

Its almost over! This went fast. But I'm tired so I'll sum this up fast. Today we:
-went to Brew's football game where they got spanked
-tyler worked on his aunts car all afternoon
-didn't get the house cleaned up as much as it needed
-made an apple pie!
-good.night

For some reason I took no pictures today. What's wrong with me? Hallie looked super cute too! I hate when I do that! I'll make up for it tomorrow :) (warning)

Day 9 & 10

Im starting to get behind!

Last night we really didnt get to do much. I dont even remember what was planned. We ended up just going to the store to get Hallie some more formula. Dream big eh?

Im realizing this whole 13 days of Hallieween is pretty darn hard with a screaming baby every night. We havent been following the course plan to a tee as I would like. But Im glad were starting the tradition now, because its awesome, and I know it will get easier as Hallie gets older.

Tonight we drove out to Queen Creek to go to my moms trunk or treat. Of course we had a chili cook-off (what is it with Mormons, Halloween, and chili?) and then the kids went around for about twenty minutes. We tried taking Hallie around to get candy for us (haha) but I dont think many people went with it.

Im kinda bummed to see that everyone is dressing their babies as lady bugs this year! I had plans to get creative with Hallie, but then I took the easy route and thought it would be cute since almost everything she owns is adorned with lady bugs on it and we call her our bug. Turns out she's just in the "in" crowd now for 2011 Halloween costumes. Whoo? This will so not happen next year. Im preparing already!

Day 8

Well tonight was supposed to be the ward party. But Hallie was not in the best mood, and it started raining and I didn't want her to be out in the rain (it was in a backyard) so we didn't end up going. I was entered into a chili contest so I had spent the day making chili from scratch. I call it one armed chili, because my daughter is spoiled and I made most of it holding her. It turned out pretty good. I don't think I would have won, it doesn't have a major wow factor. But not bad. Anyways, we have TONS left over..so if you need a dinner or are in the mood for chili (perfect weather for it!) then call me! We still dressed Hallie up for it though. Speaking of little one, she is 3 months old today! Time has flown! I love watching how much she has changed and I can't wait to see all the changes she will go through in the next 3 months. We sure love her!

Day 7

Tonight we had a meeting with the bishop. Then we went around and gave neighbors the cookies we had made. We came home, played with Hallie, ate ice cream and watched Monsters Inc. Now Tylers rubbing out all the knots in my back. I have an awesome husband. My back gets so tense from holding Hallie all day. If I was rich..instead of hiring a maid, or a chef, or anyone to help with the baby...I would get a personal masseuse!

Day 6

Today was a lazy day. Tyler wasn't feeling well so he came home at lunch and we all laid in bed for a few hours. The first couple of them were spent playing with our cute baby girl. She's too funny. Today her pants kept going past her feet and she could not figure out where they went. But then she learned how to pull her pants up to see them, so she did that all day. She sure is smart! We watched ET and all took a nap. I woke up and did the dishes which really needed to be done. Hallie woke up from her nap at the same time she always does (4:30) and we all went to Walmart to grab a few necessities. We went to Picos for dinner/family night and then came home and frosted our Halloween cookies from last night! Since there's a ton of cookies and only the 2 of us I think were going to drop some off at a few families from the ward. Sharing is caring!

Day 5

Tyler and I spoke in church yesterday. First time as a married couple, cute right? Our Ward is so small we'll probably be up for round two soon. I talked on faith and Tyler spoke on Scriptures. It turned out good. Grandma Julie and the Picos took Hallie and she did really good. She's changing so much right now. She's learned that she can bring her toes to her face, hold onto her bottle, lick everything, and roll from side to side. She's such a ball of energy and she's a lot of fun to watch and grow. After church Hallie and I took a nap while Tyler had church meetings. When he got home we made Halloween cookies to decorate tonight. One more thing checked off the bucket list!

Day 4

Hallie was so sleepy all day! She woke up at 6:30 but then went back to bed at 8 and slept till 1. We went to lunch with Mica. There's a new Tia Rosa's in Gilbert and it was so good. Then when I got back home Hallie took a nap from 2-7. I'm telling you..she's tired today. I don't know why. She slept good last night. When Tyler came home we went to a pumpkin festival at Dana Park. They had all kinds of vendors, most were for little girls stuff, but Hallie already has so much. Then we went to Hobby Lobby and got some stuff to make costumes. And of course my phone crapped out again so we went to sprint yet again to get a hard reset done. So now I'm trying to get Hallie to bed so that I can work on my talk for church tomorrow. This is the longest I've ever procrastinated on a church talk!

Day 3

Tonight we went halloween costume shopping for me and Tyler. We thought we were set on our costume choice and then got to Spirit and started rethinking! Dang! Oh and why do halloween costumes have to cost so much? Most of the time you only wear it once!
Hallie learned that she can grab her toes and pull them to her face today. So cute! She loves her little toes almost as much as I do. She's been on soy formula since yesterday. Today was a good day, so hopefully we've found a way to make her happier!

Day 2

Well yesterday, once again, didn't really go according to what we planned. We were going to walk around the neighborhood and look at the decorated houses because there are some pretty good ones, but then my mom wanted us to come out for chili. So we ended up spending the day at her haunted house putting Hallie in my first Halloween costume. Hallie will be a week older than I was on Halloween, but the costume was huge on her. I guess I was a much bigger baby. I'll have to find a picture of me as a baby in it and compare

Day 1

Well I tried putting this up two times last night and for some reason it wouldn't let me. So let's hope three times the charm. Yesterday to celebrate Day 1 of our countdown we had Halloween movie day. Hallie and I watched Halloweentown 1 and 2 while Tyler was at work. I love those movies. Then we heard that our brother in law Michael was back in the hospital. He got his gull bladder removed maybe a month ago, way back last weekend for pancreatitis, then was back the same day he was discharged for an inflamed appendix that they took out. Poor kid. Send him and Kinzie your prayers! After we visited them, we went to Blockbuster to find a movie. We had just watched Hocus Pocus a fewdays before so we wanted to find something new. I've been such a pansy lately, that I refused to watch anything too scary before we went to bed. So we settled on Coraline. Which is scary enough jeez! We snuggled on the mattress that is still on our living room floor from last weekend and we snacked on oreos, chips, Pico's salsa, and pepsi. It was a good night!
I tried getting a good picture of Hallie's outfit but she was just so wiggly! So its a little blurry. But she's still cute as a button! (Can you tell I just watched Coraline?) 

This is Hallieween!

The 13 days of Hallieween start tomorrow! I am so stoked for this idea! For those who don't know, Halloween is a HUGE hit in my family. It is like my mom's Christmas. She shops for new decorations all year round. If you're ever in Queen Creek around Halloween time, you should check out my moms front yard. Its pretty spooktacular.
I also love this time of year. There are so many things that I love to do once fall hits. Which inspired me to start a Peel family tradition yay! Every major holiday/season (spring,summer,fall/halloween,winter/christmas), we're going to create a bucketlist as a family of the things we would like to do together.
So...I've come up with the 13 days of HALLIEween. I know Hallie is really young, but you only have one first Halloween, so why not start the tradition now. I also realize I won't be able to call it Hallieween after our other kids are here..so were taking the opportunity while we can. Its cuuute right?
Over the next 13 days, we have one activity to do as a family that relates to Halloween. I also have a different Halloween outfit for Hallie for each of these days :) so if you need ideas for seasonal activities, or if you're like me and like looking at pictures of my cute baby, or if you just have nothing better to do..check back everyday to see what were doing as we count down to Halloween night!

Hallie's Blessing

Last Sunday, October 9th, we were able to bless our little Hallie. We woke up early, put her in her huge dress and waited for family to show up to our house to head over to the church. I was overwhelmed with how many friends and family members showed up! We about filled the whole left side of the congregation. And that's not a joke. It was quite impressive..especially because there were three other babies being blessed. Ty had been really nervous preparing for what he thought he wanted to say. He did not want to be the first one to go up, but of course he was. Tyler had gotten permission to invite 4-5 others to join in the circle. We asked his two grandpas, my grandpa, my brother, and Michael our brother in law. As they walked up to the front and joined in the circle with Bishop, Grandpa Pico stopped and called all of Tyler's cousins up. Haha if you know Coach Pico..this is completely like him. If a baby is going to blessed, the whole family is gonna do it. I just had to laugh. Even with a screaming baby (the only one out of the 4 babies being blessed) Tyler gave Hallie a beautiful blessing. That she would grow up and find a testimony of her own and know the gospel's truth, that she would prepare to meet an eternal companion, and that she would be an example to those around her. He did such a great job, I was so proud of him!
After Sacrament we all went back to our house and since we had church at 8:30 we made breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, fruit...yummm! And of course the Pico's were all glued to the tv for the Vikings game. It turned out really nice. Tyler and I loved having so many family and friends in our house together. We live for that kind of stuff. It turned out to be such a great day.
The next day I put Hallie back in her blessing dress and took some pictures of her (see below). I think they turned out dang cute for using a digital camera! But how could they not??

We are family

Happy Friday! Before we jump start this weekend..I still need to catch up on the last! We had a lot going on. Tyler had been to drill the first weekend of october, so when this last weekend came rolling by I was stoked to be able to spend some time with him. That's one thing I hate most about Tyler going to drill. Its hard enough to have him wake up, go to work, come home eat then go to bed during the week..but it really sucks when he's away Saturday and Sunday and then is back full force on Monday. That means I have to go two whole weeks of just seeing him for a couple hours each day..and if you know me..I need my Tyler time. So I was glad we got him to ourselves for two whole days last weekend.
Friday we wrapped up house sitting at my moms out in queen creek. We all went to dinner at olive garden for my brothers 17th(wow) birthday. Then the boys went to my dads and Tyler and I hung out at my moms for a little then headed home for the first time in a week. The next day we had planned to just clean the house all day long. But we woke up Saturday morning to SUCH a beautiful day..that we knew we didn't want to waste it inside. So we stopped and grabbed Sonic and headed to Tyler's brother's football game. He scored 3 touchdowns! The best part of the game was Hallie was soo good! She looked so cute (duh) in her little pea coat and just sat with Tylers mom watching the world around her. It was nice to spend a morning outside with nice weather and a happy baby. Next we took Hallie to Costco for her first time. Now that were on formula..we figured it'd be best to buy bulk..so we scored some good deals. Plus who can beat boxes of 216 diapers?! Love me some Costco! We also got Hallie a halloween costume that she looks oh so cute in. Stay tuned for the 13 days of HALLIEween to see what it is. And of course we got some lunch with the Picos along with the rest of the world at Costco. Hallie fell asleep for most of the shopping trip, so we decided to push it and do our WIC shopping trip at Walmart. Gotta love free food! Hallie slept through that too. Yay! We got home and started cleaning..and then soon got distracted with projects. Tyler decided he wanted to paint the backdoor brown (it looks awesome) and I decided I wanted to make some Halloween decorations. Before we knew it the clock said it was 9 pm and the house was still a mess. We popped our olive garden leftovers in the microwave, sat down and watched some CSI while we gulped down our dinner, and then dove into cleaning. Luckily I've been getting better at balancing Hallie and housework through the week, so it didn't take us that long. After we were done all 3 of us snuggled into bed and dozed off.
Sunday morning we had the support of LOTS (my husbands mexican remember?) Of family and friends who came to our early sacrament meeting where Tyler gave Hallie a beautiful blessing. I'll post more on that later when I get pictures up. It turned out to be a great day
Monday Tyler went back to work after a wonderful weekend and Hallie and I had a lazy day. For family home evening we had braided spaghetti bread (thanks pinterest!) And then went over to the temple to walk around. I found out Tyler hadn't been inside the visitor's center since he was like 5!?! So we walked around, got to look at the beautiful art display (if you get a chance to go...GO! There are some peices that will blow your mind) and we listened to the family presentation. And of course Hallie cried through most of it (sorry people). But we love the temple and we can't wait to seal ourselves as a forever family.
I love spending time together as a family. I think that's one of mine and Tyler's biggest similarities is we love our families and hope to have our kids grow up as family oriented as we are. There is nothing better. Especially during this time of year!
Funny story: Earlier this week when I had made braided spaghetti bread for dinner, I had made the french bread homemade during the day. It made a big loaf, so I split it in half and froze some. Yesterday I pulled out the frozen half to thaw to make dinner. Hallie and I met Tyler at his work with intentions to work out (she was too pissed off..we couldn't get anything done) so we came home to a ripped up Ziplock bag on the floor. I knew it was the bread dough. And knowing that I had left it on the oven towards the back led me to knowing Chloe was the one to get it down. Now my sweet Chloe dog is almost perfect (not kidding) but she sure has a knack for getting things off the countertops. Lacey hasn't learned this habit thank goodness. I did what I normally do when the girls have eaten some unknown substance..googled it. Turns out bread dough is toxic to dogs. Yayyy. They said either the dough will get warm and rise and suffocate them..or while the yeast ferments the dog can get alcohol poisoning. As we were researching we noticed Chloe was getting more and more swollen every minute. Her cheeks were even huge. We gave her lots of pepto and kept our eye on her. Oh..and by the way..did you know if you call the Animal Poison Control Center they want $65 to give you their advice?! Which is probably just saying go to a vet! Absolutely ridiculous! We hung up so fast! So I started looking up what would happen if the bread had already had time to rise before being frozen and was eaten while it was thawing. After pages and pages of google..our nerves were somewhat settled by hearing that most often the chemicals in yeast are deactivated while they are cold and not as potent. We may just have a drunk swollen dog. Well Chloe sure did swell, and smell like a drunk..but we didn't have her running into walls or anything like that. Darn. But we'll just add that to the list of things Chloe has eaten and survived.
Sorry this is so long..I guess this is what I get for having backlogged all of our happenings. Tyler's grandparents are watching Hallie tonight so we can go on a date. Ooh-la-la. Aka..the dollar theater whoo! Remember..the 13 days of Hallieween are starting next week! I'll write a blog in the next few days explaining what it is and why you'll want to check back! Have a Happy weekend everyone!

The dilemma

Oh Motherhood.


I think one of the hardest things about my new role as a mom is realizing that I call the shots for my little girl and what I think will be best for us as a family. Some people probly have this instinct come naturally, but it's been extremely difficult for me. Hello my name is Ashley and I am a people pleaser. Especially when it comes to people who I respect their opinions. So..my dilemma right now has come down to breastfeeding (sorry its kinda a touchy subject). Shall I or shall I not?


History: I have grown up with my mom being a huge cheerleader for breastfeeding. Its the only way to go she says. She's completely anti-formula, and is very opinionated about it. I know that breastfeeding brings many advantages for both baby and mom. So the choice at the beginning was easy. Hallie was awesome at it right away. She was just a natural. And at first I had such a big milk supply that I was pumping between feedings and freezing them so that when I needed a break I could have someone else feed her. Everything was going great, and then I got on birth control. My dr. told me that with the pills there was a chance that it could lower milk supply because of hormonal changes. But he put me on a mini pill where the chances of that happening were even lower. After being on the pill for a week I started my period. Which I thought was weird because most women dont when they are breastfeeding enough. But I continued to do it. Around this time Hallie was getting worse and worse. She would cry all day long. She stopped napping. She wasnt sleeping well. I would try to nurse her and she would only take about ten minutes max and then scream. I thought that since we have been giving her apple juice from a bottle maybe she was getting lazy and wanted a bottle. So I tried pumping whenever she wouldnt eat. I went from being able to pump 6 oz. at the drop of a hat to sitting in a room for 45 minutes and getting not even an ounce. So thats when I started thinking that maybe my milk supply was going low.





So thats where my heart was torn. Do I sacrifice the support and respect from my mom for a maybe happier baby if I put her on formula and she actually gets food? Or do I just try to nurse her, even when she's unhappy, because it's better for her. I was becoming so stressed with such a miserable baby. Which probly didnt help with my milk supply. I wasnt sleeping, I barely got anything to eat during the day, and my stress level was through the roof. I knew that if something didnt change I was going to be an unhealthy mental mess soon. Sure, formula may not even solve the problem. It could be something entirely different as to why she cries all day long. But I had to try something. So I caved.





One of the biggest things holding me back was the fear of disappointing everyone. Whenever I was asked if I was breastfeeding or formula, I always got compliments on doing the best thing for my baby when I told them breastfeeding. Now what will everyone say? I know it shouldnt matter, but I do NOT want to seem like a failure as a mother. So this is my disclaimer: I am not switching Hallie to formula because I am lazy, or because I think it is an easy way out. I am only trying to get my baby the food that she needs to be happy, because I can not do that on my own right now.





So call me a failure, say you're disappointed in me, that you thought I didn't try hard enough, that I gave up too easy. But I gave it all I could, and Im sorry. Hallie has been on formula since Sunday night and we have a different baby. She smiles, she plays, she interacts, she takes two naps a day, she puts herself to sleep, she is consoleable, she is happy, and she is satisfied. I'm hoping that I am making the right decision for my sweet baby

October happiness!

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!!
I am so excited that it is FINALLY October. It is one of my favorite months. Maybe because September is just so long and borrring (thats why we chose to get married in September..it actually gives us something to look forward to). Or because it means that the holiday season is coming up! Either way, it just makes me happy. Here's some reasons why:
-conference!
-its 'supposed' to start cooling down. key word supposed
-i love fall colors
-baking season starts
-i can pull my sweatshirts out
-naps with the windows open
-all the halloween movies
-my mom starts decorating
-halloween at my moms is just plain awesome
-and I am so excited this year for the "thirteen days of HALLIEween" she'll be in a different halloween outfit every day so stay tuned :)
I just love all that fall brings!

With it being October, my mom is on her anual trip to California which means Im house sitting for her. I guess its a lot more than just housesitting. Four dogs, two cats, two brothers, the house, and a fussy baby are my responsibilities for the next week. Bleh. And it doesnt help that Tylers at drill. Hopefully he'll be able to share the load when he gets back. With Tyler being gone, I went over to Jessica and Skyler's to watch conference. I'd be amazed if they even heard any of it..its kinda hard with a screaming baby. All four years Tyler has been in the military, he has ALWAYS had drill on conference weekends. I swear its intentional. I just wish that one day i'll be able to lay around with my husband and watch it together as a family. I recorded it, so maybe we can have our own conference session next weekend.
Also with Tyler being gone, that meant it was just me and Hallie last night (plus brothers, dogs, cats, etc.) for the first time. I was quite nervous, even though Im the one majorily that gets up with her at night anyways. But she was so good! I gave her a bath and fed her at 8, then we crawled into bed and snuggled up together. Next thing I knew it was 6 am! She had only waken up to eat once for ten minutes. YAY! She also has been a happier baby lately. She LOVES the apple juice, and I think it has really made a difference. I get lots of smiles in the mornings (thats when shes happiest) and they light up my world! She may be quite a handful, but boy do I love her!!
Now its time to clean the house, make some treats, and relax as my little one naps away (thank goodness)

Tyler

I realized that my "1 year anniversary" post yesterday, quickly turned into a "all about Hallie" post, like it usually does (she's just so dang cute), and I didn't give Tyler the credit he deserves, for surviving a whole year of being married to me. So this is a shoutout to the wonderful man I love, and a few things I love about him.
-his sense of humor..I may not understand half of what he thinks is funny, but I appreciate his ability to see the funny side of just about everything and to laugh when he see's fit
-how family oriented he is..no matter how inconvenient it may be, Tyler will bend over backwards for any family member. I respect how loyal and reliable he is. It makes him such a good husband
-he is my BEST friend. I have seen this quality in him for many, many years and I love having someone like him to talk and vent to (even when the problem is him)
-his work ethics..he is the hardest worker I know. He truely wants to earn everything we are given, and he works so hard to support our family
-we are DIFFERENT..in so many ways..but he is my strength for every weakness I have, and us being different gives our relationship an edge that we wouldn't have otherwise
-he gave me Hallie..need I say more?
-he let's me be ME. This is so easy to take for granted because it has never been an issue. He allows me to be who I am, and loves me for it..even at my worst
-no flowers, or jewelry, or presents can compare to the way I feel when he just says that he's proud of me. Because that's all I want in life..to make him proud, because he deserves the best me that I can be

I love my husband, and I can't wait to make our 'family is forever' a reality. I am so thankful for all he does for me, and I couldn't ask to be loved more than I am

Happy 1 year!

Tyler and I celebrated our first anniversary last Sunday. I cant believe it's already been a year. Or, I can't believe its ONLY been one year with how much has changed in our lives. It's crazy that we already have Hallie..there are times when I find myself wishing we had enjoyed married life together longer, but I would never change having her here with us. I know she was sent to us for a reason, and although sometimes Im not sure why or how, I know she will bring us many blessings having her this early. At least Tyler and I have now been together three years, so we have had our time to be just us, and to learn about eachother..because there is no time for that now! Please dont get me wrong though, I do NOT regret having Hallie, I love her more than life itself!

We celebrated our anniversary on Saturday. We slept in, played with Hallie, and got the house cleaned! Then my mom came over and watched Hallie so we could go out. We first went to Cantina Laredo at the San Tan Mall. We split a steak and chicken fajita platter. It was very filling, but I was saving room for dessert. MEXICAN BROWNIE! If you have not tried this, you need to! A huge chcolate brownie with pecans and walnuts comes out on one of the fajita platters so its nice and hot. Then they scoop vanilla ice cream on top and then pour a vanilla creme sauce over it so it sizzles and carmalizes the brownie. Sooo good.

After dinner we went to the pet store to of course look at all the cute boxers that we wish we could have, but definitely could not handle. Then we went into Helzberg, just to see if they had my ring. The San Tan store was the place I first saw my ring two years ago, and I have never seen it since. I love that Ive never seen anything close to it, because that means its unique! After we were bamboozled to buy everything we saw, we headed over to the Disney Store just for fun. We were actually just killing time.

I have been asking, no begging, Tyler to go ice skating for a few years, and Ive always been told no. He broke his wrist once roller blading, and has been scared to try ice skating ever since. I have never been ice skating as a couple, and Ive always wanted to because I think ice skating holding hands is just so cute. I finally talked him into it, and then we found out we get in free being military! Score! Tyler was a little nervous, but as soon as he got onto the ice, I realized that my vision of us skating off into the distance wasn't much of a reality. I have gone ice skating about five times, and I still have to hold on to the wall for the first few rounds. Not Tyler I guess. He got on the ice and skated off! He was a pro at it! But we had so much fun, and Im glad he liked it.After ice skating, we went to Blockbuster and got some movies. Then we came home, and we snuggled with this little one

Speaking of little one, she is two months old this week! We went to the doctors, and she's now 10 lb 10 oz. 24 inches long! Her jaundice is gone, and she's looking good. For her stomach issues, the dr. suggested that we give her apple juice. I was so excited that she gets juice! I was telling the dr. that hallie is always upset and crying. She was asking if she smiles on command, and just after I told her Ive only seen her smile in her sleep, SHE SMILES at the Dr!!! I was so frustrated! I didnt get the first smile! The person that was soon going to give her shots got the first smile! And I havent seen her smile since...So the dr. thinks her communication skills are slow, but not a worry until she's four months. But she thinks she'll catch up soon. Her gross motor skills are beyond what they should be at her age, since when she's on her tummy she can push her chest up and look around, and grab something when its in front of her. So she's doing good, I just hope that she starts getting happy soon. She did so good getting her shots, and afterwards she slept the whole day snuggled up next to me. I want to give her shots more often, because she was such a peaceful happy baby...which I never would of thought.